Toph Beifong
'''Toph Beifong '''is a legendary earthbending master, one of the most powerful of her time, and the discoverer of metalbending. Blind since birth, Toph was constantly treated condescendingly becasue of her disability, particularly by her overprotective parents, Lao and Poppy Beifong. Upon discovering badgermoles, earthbending animals who were also blind, she learned how to use earthbending as an extension of her senses. This gave her the ability to "see" every vibration that passes through the ground. She is also the mother of two different daughters: Lin and Suyin. Background Physical Appearance Personality Upon joining Team Avatar during her younger years, Toph brought a completely new personality to the group. Unlike the nurturing Katara, flighty Aang, or gruff but goofy Sokka, Toph was fiercely independent, sarcastic, direct, stubborn, and confrontational. She appeared to have the same carefree and adventurous personality as Aang and she was very tomboyish in the way she acted and dressed, in contrast to the delicate doll her parents saw her as. However, unlike Aang, who avoided fighting whenever possible, Toph loved battling and took great pride in her earthbending skills. She appeared eager to prove that she was as strong as anyone who could see and once claimed that she was "the greatest earthbender in the world". In old age, Toph retained her abrasive, no-nonsense personality, being harshly critical of Korra's abilities and enjoying defeating her in combat. However, she had adopted a more cynical mindset about the impact actions make on their surroundings; she had realized that no matter how hard she tried, crime and injustice would never give up. Despite her tough exterior, Toph is not above warming up during intimate moments, as evidenced when she joined in group hugs with Team Avatar and held hands with Aang at the prospect of friendships lasting more than one lifetime. Although she had become more cynical in old age, she would allow herself to show affection when she deemed the other person worthy, as evidenced when she let Korra hug her after earning her respect and did not berate or try to stop Opal's embrace when they met again after several years of separation. History Powers and Abilities Earthbending Prowess *Earthbending Grandmaster - Toph's proclamation of being the most powerful earthbender in the world is supported by her talented displays of earthbending since a young age. Although blind, Toph's training in earthbending under the original earthbenders, the badgermoles, allowed her to use their unique ability of seismic sense: she used earthbending to "feel" even the most minute vibrations in the earth, including the march of ants several meters away and the presence of trees and buildings. Through this heightened seismic sense, Toph could visualize where people were, their relative distance to her, and their physical build, but was unable to visualize faces. This sense provided her with a distinct advantage when facing other earthbenders in combat, because she could predict attacks as they began and quickly react. Her knowledge of the art also allowed her to teach it to others like Aang, and later her daughters, Lin and Suyin. Her speed and agility were also greatly beneficial in combat. Her earthbending style was unique and thus unpredictable, as her training was unconventional and more deeply rooted into the nature of earthbending rather than just pure fighting. This style greatly differentiated from the rigid training and fighting style that earthbenders like the Dai Li implemented. Toph's style tended to be proven to be superior to the Dai Li, as she was able to take on a number of them and defend her friends at the same time. This is likely because while the Dai Li just manipulated the earth, Toph had established a tremendously deep connection to it at the very outset of her self-tutelage in earthbending (although both styles have an over dependence on something i.e. the Dai Li and their earth gloves and Toph and her feet). **Seismic Sense Metalbending Prowess *Metalbending Master - Toph discovered the ability to bend metal in the spring of 100 AG. Metal is derived from ore, which is found in the earth. Guru Pathik explained to Aang that "metal is just a part of earth that has been purified and refined". Because of Toph's ability to feel the vibrations in earth, she was able to locate the impurities (the small fragments of earth) still found in most metals and manipulate them to "bend" the metal portion. By acquiring these metalbending abilities, Toph had shown herself to be one of the most powerful and ingenious earthbenders in the world, being the only known earthbender to ever bend metal during the Hundred Year War, a feat that even the Avatar was unable to perform since the origin of earthbending. When Sokka finished his training as a sword master, he gave Toph a small piece of meteorite, which, being composed of earth and metal, she could easily mold into a myriad of shapes, subsequently transforming it into an arm bracelet which she would wear. She originally used an underdeveloped form of metalbending and usually needed to have direct contact with the element to manipulate it at all, let alone skillfully. However, she continued to practice her metalbending and started to display a dexterous control over metal. Sandbending Prowess *Sandbending Master Other Skills *Enhanced Sense of Touch and Hearing Zenkai *Beifong's Metal War Armor Zenkai Special Ability * Relationships Family *Kanto (Ex-husband) *Lin Beifong (Daughter) *Suyin Beifong (Daughter) *Bataar (Son-in-Law) Friends/Allies * Enemies * Theme Songs * Background in Other Media * Quotes * Trivia * See Also * Category:Characters Category:Heroines Category:Females Category:Human Category:Earthbenders Category:Metalbenders Category:United Earth Nations Category:Beifong Family Category:Seismic Sense Users Category:United Republic Category:Heroes Alliance Category:Earthbending Masters Category:Metalbending Masters Category:Advanced Captain-class Fighters Category:Major Characters Category:Team Avatar (Legend of Aang) Category:Zenkai Users Category:Heroes Alliance Lieutenants